DENVER — The city of Denver has stopped issuing parking tickets in some neighborhoods because of an issue with the new application process for residential parking permits.
Mark Landry said the new system has been a headache.
“I got an email on Aug. 1 of this year saying that my parking permit had expired, and I thought it was a spam email because it came from an email address that I didn’t recognize, so I ignored it,” said Landry.
Landry said in years past, he would receive a letter in the mail when it was time to renew his permit. He was not expecting an email. “So I just dismissed it, and then I got a ticket on my car," he said.
Landry called the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and learned the city was using a new system through a different company, Passport Labs, Inc. based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
He set up a new account and uploaded the requested documents. “And I waited,” said Landry. “And I waited. I waited two months. Nothing happened.”
Nancy Kuhn with the transportation department said the city is about 30 days behind in processing residential parking permits. “We’re a little short-staffed,” she said. “We moved to a new system this year generating a lot of questions from residents. We’re taking more phone calls and that’s kind of slowing us down.”
Kuhn said they’re currently in the middle of processing two of the largest residential permit areas in the city, and they’re working hard to catch up.
“It’s always a little bit different when you’re rolling out a new system and working through bugs and things like that. There's a little bit of a learning curve for people. We're asking them to enter some information that we didn't previously.”
Because of the backlog, Kuhn said the city has stopped issuing parking tickets in some neighborhoods, including Baker/Broadway and Denver University areas.
“We’re asking for no enforcement of the RPP in those areas knowing that we’re a few weeks behind,” said Kuhn.
It costs around $700,000 a year to administer the Residential Parking Permit Program in Denver. Beginning next year, there will be a $20 fee for a Vehicle Specific Parking Permit and a $25 fee for a Flex Parking Permit, which can be used for guest parking.
Kuhn said the new fees will help cover program costs moving forward.
“Instead of having the program paid for by all taxpayers through the city’s general fund – we’re charging the fee to those who use it, which is about 4-5% of the city’s residents,” said Kuhn. “We’re also asking residents to take stock of the off-street parking they have available to them.”
Landry said his permit was finally approved a few weeks ago.
“It just seemed like a really sloppy rollout. A lazy rollout. There have been no apologies for the inconveniences,” he said. “So just admit it. That’s all I want. Just say, ‘Hey we didn’t roll this out well, sorry, here’s what we’re going to do to compensate or whatever.’ At least own it and apologize. That’s all I need.”
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